Church History in Plain Language, Fifth Edition

Written by Bruce Shelley

Narrated by Tom Parks

Over 330,000 copies sold. This is the story of the church for today's listeners.

Bruce Shelley's classic history of the church brings the story of global Christianity into the twenty-first century. Like a skilled screenwriter, Shelley begins each chapter with three elements: characters, setting, plot. Taking you from the early centuries of the church up through the modern era he tells a story of actual people, in a particular situation, taking action or being acted upon, provides a window into the circumstances and historical context, and from there develops the story of a major period or theme of Christian history. Covering recent events, this book also:

• Details the rapid growth of evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity in the southern hemisphere
• Addresses the decline in traditional mainline denominations
• Examines the influence of technology on the spread of the gospel
• Discusses how Christianity intersects with other religions in countries all over the world

For this fifth edition, Marshall Shelley brought together a team of historians, historical theologians, and editors to revise and update this father's classic text. The new edition adds important stories of the development of Christianity in Asia, India, and Africa, both in the early church as well as in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It also highlights the stories of women and non-Europeans who significantly influenced the development of Christianity but whose contributions are often overlooked in previous overviews of church history.

This concise book provides an approachable guide to church history with intellectual substance. The new edition of Church History in Plain Language promises to set a new standard for accessible church history.

Maps, timelines, suggested reading, and end notes are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan Academic
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9780310116004

Reviews for Church History in Plain Language, Fifth Edition

[Lydia Wilsey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great narrator, learned alot, understand Catholicism better, recommended for Christians

[justagirlwithabook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is part of my collection that really focuses in on Biblical Commentary more than anything else (including some well known authors in the theological world). All of these books haven't been read cover to cover, but I've spent a lot of time with them and they've been helpful in guiding me through difficult passages (or if I desire to dig deeper).

[leandrod-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Worthy reading. Only the end was too fast, too much information too condensed.

[matthewn_97 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I bought my first copy of this book several years ago. I ended up giving it to a friend who was interested in learning about the history of Christianity. I picked up another copy not long after that. This is not an exhaustive history of Christianity. However, it is an exceptionally good starting point for figuring out which aspects of Christian history you want more detail on. He provides just enough info to cover the major points. I would consider this the highly abridged version of church history. The one thing I do wish he would have spent more time on is the modern day church as we know it in the west. Other than that, I recommend this for anyone who wants to know more about the history of Christianity but doesn't know where to start.

[texlexread · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've got to buy this book. Gee, imagine that church hasn't always been done how we do it. Interesting read alongside Barna's Revolution.

[misskate_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good reading making a very complicated subject digestable

[kwmcdonald_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you're looking for an overview of Christian history, this is great. He has quite a bit of detail (it's 500 pages), but it doesn't go into excessive detail, and it reads more like a novel than a textbook. Anybody could read this book and understand the basics of church history without prior background. One main complaint: he provides chapter notes & references at the end of the book, but they are not numbered; it's things like "the quote from Polycarp came from...." So if you are wondering where he came up with something, you have to look in the back and see if he gave any reference or not. More often than not, he didn't. I know this book is designed to be in an easy reading style rather than "textbook-ish," but he has some very interesting stories from church history that I wish he provided sources for somehow. This book was great for giving me a framework that will be useful when I delve into something a little more detailed (probably Pelikan and/or Latourette).